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Dry county

This article is about counties in the U.S. that prohibit alcoholic beverage
sales. For the Bon Jovi song, see Dry County (song). Incomplete map of dry counties.
Information may be outdated. Dry counties Partially dry counties
Wet counties Wet counties

A dry county is a county in the United States whose government
forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale,
some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Hundreds of dry
counties exist across the United States, although most commonly in the South. A number of smaller jurisdictions also
exist, such as cities, towns and townships, which prohibit the sale of
alcoholic beverages. These are known as dry towns, dry cities or dry
townships.

Background

History

Although the 21st Amendment repealed
the prohibition of alcohol on the federal
level, that Amendment also specifically prohibits the selling or production
of alcohol in violation of local laws. Some local governments which had passed
local laws prohibiting alcohol during national prohibition never re-legalized
the sale of alcohol, maintaining a "dry" market.[1]

Many dry communities do not generally prohibit the mere consumption of
alcohol. Thus, they lose the profits and taxes from the sale of alcohol to
their residents to "wet" — or non-prohibition — areas. The rationale for
maintaining prohibition on the local level often is religious in nature, as
many ProtestantChristian denominations discourage the consumption
of alcohol by their followers (see Christianity and alcohol) (see also sumptuary
law). Similar laws designed to restrict the sale and consumption of alcohol
also are common in the mostly LDS (Mormon) state
of Utah,
although Utah prohibits local jurisdictions from exercising control over liquor
laws. An additional, more pragmatic intent of these laws often is to reduce
alcohol consumption in that particular county (and the potential health,
safety, and public order issues that can accompany it) by limiting the ease of
acquiring it.

Transport

It once had been considered that, because of the 21st
Amendment, which repealed national prohibition and made alcohol prohibition
a state matter rather than a federal one, states had the power to regulate
interstate commerce with respect to alcohol traveling to, from, or through
their jurisdiction. While the 21st Amendment does give states the power to ban
alcohol, that power is not absolute. The Supreme Court of the United
States held in Granholm v. Heald544 U.S. 460 (2005) that states do not have the power to regulate interstate
shipments of alcoholic beverages. Therefore, it may be likely that city,
county, or state legislation banning possession of alcoholic beverages by
passengers of vehicles operating in interstate commerce (such as trains and
interstate bus lines) would be unconstitutional, were passengers on such
vehicles simply passing through the area.

Criticism of local "dry laws"

However, prohibiting alcohol sales may actually reduce public safety.
Research has found that dry counties have higher proportions of alcohol-related
traffic crashes than do wet counties. A study of Kentucky suggested that
residents of dry counties have to drive farther from their homes to consume
alcohol, thus increasing impaired driving exposure.[2] A study of Arkansas noted that wet and dry counties are often
adjacent and that alcohol beverage sales outlets are often located immediately
across county or even state lines.[3] Other
researchers have pointed to the same phenomenon. Winn and Giacopassi observed
that residents of wet counties most likely have "shorter distances [to travel]
between home and drinking establishments."[4] From their study, Schulte and colleagues concluded that in dry
counties "individuals are driving farther under the influence of alcohol, thus
increasing their exposure to crashes."[5]

Dry communities by state

Alabama

Of the 67 counties in Alabama, 14 are
completely dry, 12 are partially dry or "moist" (these counties contain cities
that have voted to allow alcohol sales), and 41 are completely wet.[6] Within those 12 "moist" counties, 16 city
governments have legalized alcohol sales inside their city limits.

In order for an Alabama city or county to hold a wet-dry vote, 25% of the
voters in the preceding general election must sign a petition requesting a
vote.[7] Petitions can be made to
go from dry to wet or wet to dry.

In dry counties, it is illegal to transport more than one case of beer and
three quarts of liquor.[8]

Alaska

State law allows each village to decide on restrictions, although some
boroughs may prohibit it altogether. Here is a link to a summary of dry/damp
villages.[9]

Arkansas

In Arkansas, some cities, like Jacksonville, are dry despite being located in a
"wet" county. In nearby North Little Rock, the distinction of areas
is even more specific, with a single township inside
the city designated as a dry area.

Benton County, Arkansas, in the northwest
corner of the state, is considered the "wettest" of the dry counties with 110
private club permits, according to an article by John C. Williams in the
Arkansas Times dated February 19, 2008. Second is
Craighead County with 21 permits, followed by Faulkner County with 20. Benton
County also has the second highest population of any county in the state (est.
at 196,045 for 2006) and the lowest poverty rate of any county in the state (at
9.1% for 2004).[citation needed]

Arizona

Colorado City, a city in northern Arizona that runs along
the Utah border.

Connecticut

Wilton was a "dry town" until 1992 when voters
repealed the prohibition laws, allowing limited restaurants a license to serve
alcohol. However, Wilton still does not allow the sale of liquor in any stores
within its municipality.

While not legally "dry", Easton does not sell alcoholic beverages in either
its stores or restaurants.

Georgia

Murray County, in northwest Georgia, is a dry county, although the city of
Eton allows the sale of liquor at a local level. Hart
County in northeast Georgia is currently a dry county which prohibits the sale
of liquor, yet a referendum will be voted on in the general election on
November 6, 2007 to allow the sale of liquor by the drink.

Dawson County, was historically noted for
being a heavy Moonshine county but was a dry county until recently with the
first package store opening on July 27, 2007.

Bulloch County, Georgia is a partially dry county.

Illinois

The village of South Holland, Illinois, has been a dry
municipality since it was founded by Dutch Reformed immigrants in 1894. It is likely that
Illinois state law, which requires all communities to abide by
the state liquor law, supersedes this law (see below).

Kansas

Kansas
had prohibition longer than any other state, from 1881 to 1948, and continued to
prohibit bars selling liquor by the drink until 1987. Both the 1948
amendment to the Kansas Constitution which ended prohibition and
the 1986
amendment which allowed for open saloons provided that the amendments only
would be in effect in counties which had approved the respective amendments,
either during the election over the amendment itself or subsequently.

All counties in Kansas have approved the 1948 amendment, but 29 dry counties
never approved the 1986 amendment and therefore continue to prohibit any and
all sale of liquor by the drink.[10] Public
bars (so-called "open saloons") are illegal in these dry counties. Another 59
counties (including Johnson County, the largest county in Kansas and
the largest Kansas portion of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area) approved the
1986 amendment but with a requirement that to sell liquor by the drink, an
establishment must receive 30% of its gross revenues from food sales.[11] Only 17 counties in Kansas approved the 1986
amendment without any limitation, allowing liquor to be sold by the drink
without any food sales requirement.[12]

Kentucky

Of the 120 counties in Kentucky, 53
are completely dry, 37 are considered partially dry or "moist", 29 are entirely
wet, and one is classified as wet but is actually closer to "moist".[13] A county can be "moist" in several
different ways:

Under Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 242.123, an
individual precinct within any dry territory—which can be a dry county, or a
dry portion of an otherwise wet county—that contains a USGA-regulation golf
course may vote to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages by the drink on
that specific course. As of the last officially published update on Kentucky
wet and dry counties by the Kentucky Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC)
in November 2007, 16 golf courses in 12 different counties were approved for
such sales.[13]

KRS 243.155 allows individual precincts within dry territory to vote
to allow a "small farm winery" to operate within the precinct. Once approved, a winery
not only can produce and sell wine on its premises but also can apply for a
license to sell wine and beer by the drink in a restaurant located on its
premises. As of November 2007, 15 wineries were operating in 10 counties under
this statute.[13] KRS 243.154 allows a
wholesale distributor of wine produced in small farm wineries to operate in dry
territory.

Two different statutes authorize local option elections for sales of
alcohol by the drink in restaurants:

KRS 242.185(6) requires that restaurants seat at least 100 patrons
and derive at least 70% of their total sales from food to be allowed to serve
alcohol by the drink. The Kentucky ABC listed 20 cities and three counties that
had voted to approve such sales as of November 2007.[13] The most recent areas to authorize such
sales were the city of Whitesburg in April 2007,[14]Boyd County outside of the wet city of Ashland the following month,[15] and the city of Glasgow in November 2007.[16] The other counties that have
authorized restaurant sales countywide under this statute are Oldham County and Shelby County outside of the wet city of Shelbyville.[13]

KRS 242.1244, enacted into law in June 2007, also requires that
restaurants derive at least 70% of their total sales from food, but lowers the
seating limit to 50 patrons. Restaurants licensed under this statute are not
allowed to have separate bars, and can only serve alcohol to customers who
purchase a meal, and only during a time frame that starts with the serving of
the meal and ends 30 minutes after the customer finishes his or her meal. No
Kentucky jurisdiction has yet held a local option election to authorize alcohol
sales under this statute.

In addition to Shelbyville and Ashland, fourteen other cities are wet
cities located in dry counties. An otherwise dry county for general retail
sales that contains a wet city is also known as a moist
county.

Finally, McCracken County, although officially
classified as "wet", is actually closer to "moist". The county as a whole is
dry; however, its county seat of Paducah is wet, as are five county precincts outside of
Paducah.[13]

A study of about 39,000 alcohol-related traffic accidents in
Kentucky found that residents of dry counties are more likely to be involved in
such crashes, possibly because they have to drive farther from their homes to
consume alcohol, thus increasing impaired driving exposure. The study concludes
that county-level prohibition is not necessarily effective in improving highway
safety.

Massachusetts

Michigan

Wayne County, Michigan, whose
county seat is Detroit, is notable in that one cannot buy
alcoholic beverages in any gas station there, possibly as a motive to discourage drunk
driving. The 7-Eleven gas stations there are the only 7-Elevens in Michigan
that do not sell alcohol.

Hudsonville, Michigan, voted to allow alcohol
sales on November 6, 2007, ending its run as the last dry city in Michigan.
Hudsonville's vote follows the precedent of voters in both Zeeland, Michigan, and Allendale Township, choosing to
overturn their bans on alcohol sales in recent years. [18]

Nevada

The town of Panaca, Nevada, was southern Nevada's first
permanent settlement, founded as a Mormon colony in
1864. It
originally was part of Washington County, Utah, but the Congressional
redrawing of boundaries in 1866 shifted Panaca into Nevada. It remains
Nevada's only dry municipality, only because it is grandfathered into state
law.

Ohio

The city of Westerville, Ohio, was dry for more
than a century. Once the home of the Anti-Saloon League and called the "dry capital of the
world", the first legal drink in recent times was served in 2006.

The village of Bethel in Clermont County has been dry since the repeal of
prohibition. But recently, through use of the single precinct vote system,
precincts A and C can now sell (but not serve) alcohol. Business must first be
put onto the ballot and voted into permitation.

Oregon

The city of Monmouth, Oregon was the last dry municipality on the
Pacific coast outside of Alaska until it repealed its prohibition on January 10,
2003. Oregon state law
now prohibits any dry community from existing (see below).

Throughout the state of Oregon, beer, wine, wine coolers, malt liquor and
similar beverages may be purchased in a convenience store, grocery store and
similar outlets. However, sales of "hard" liquor are restricted to
state-controlled outlets, as well as bars, or restaurants that include a bar.
As such, there are relatively few stand-alone liquor stores in Oregon (for
example, as of March 18th 2008, there were only 35 stand-alone liquor stores in
the city of Portland, Oregon, which had a 2000 population of
529,000 residents). Oregon also has taverns that sell beer and wine only. All
outlets selling "hard" liquor are subject to the rules and regulations of the
state-run Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC).
By law, any establishment wishing to sell any alcoholic beverage in the state
of Oregon must also offer food for sale, including bars, taverns, music venues,
fairs and festivals, and so-called strip
clubs. Oregon is one of 18 states that directly control the sales of
alcohol beverages in the U.S.

Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, one cannot buy beer or wine in a grocery store
or a convenience store. Wine and spirits are sold only in
state owned/operated liquor stores, while beer is sold only by state licensed
independent beer distributors. Non-alcoholic beer can be bought in grocery stores and
convenience stores, but even then one has to be 21 to buy it, perhaps defeating
the purpose of producing beer without alcohol.

The state has a number of dry municipalities. Perhaps most notable is
Yardley, although patrons of restaurants may bring
bottles of wine for consumption.

Putnam, Campbell, Cumberland, Hancock, and White are also dry counties.

Texas

Of Texas's
254 counties, 46 are completely dry, 169 are
partially dry or "moist", and 39 are entirely wet. The vast majority of
entirely wet counties are in southern border regions of Texas near Mexico, or
in the south central part of the state. The patchwork of laws can be confusing,
even to residents. In some counties, only 4% beer is legal. In others,
beverages that are 14% or less alcohol are legal. In some "dry" areas, a
customer can get a mixed drink by paying to join a "private club," and in some
"wet" areas a customer needs a club membership to purchase liquor by-the-drink,
reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The newspaper demonstrates how variable the alcohol laws can be, even within
small geographic areas. "Move from Fort Worth to Arlington and you’ll be surprised that you can buy beer
but not wine at the grocery store. Move to Grand Prairie and you can’t even find beer there,
but you can buy alcoholic drinks at restaurants in both towns. Then move to
Burleson, which has alcohol sales in the Tarrant County portion of the city but not in the
Johnson County side of town."[19]

Wisconsin

The village of Ephraim, Wisconsin, is the only dry municipality in
Wisconsin; it has been dry since its founding in the
mid-nineteenth century, and its anti-liquor laws have been upheld decisively in
two referenda (in 1934 and 1992).

States which permit localities to go dry

33 states have laws which allow localities to prohibit the sale (and in some
cases, consumption and possession) of liquor. Still, many of these states have
no dry communities. Three states, Kansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee,
are entirely dry by default: counties specifically must authorize the sale of
alcohol in order for it to be legal and subject to state liquor control
laws.

Alabama specifically allows cities and counties to elect to go
dry by public referendum.[20]

Alaska
specifically allows local jurisdictions to elect to go dry by public
referendum.[21]

Arkansas specifically allows local jurisdictions to elect to go
dry by public referendum.[22]

California specifically allows local jurisdictions to enact
liquor laws which are more strict than state law.[23]

Delaware's state constitution allows specifically-defined local
districts to elect to go dry by public referendum.[26]

Florida specifically allows counties to elect to go dry by public
referendum.[27]

Georgia specifically allows any local
jurisdiction to go dry, without limitation on how that decision is
made.[28]

Idaho
allows local jurisdictions to prohibit sale of liquor by the drink by public
referendum,[29], but because all retail
package sales are controlled by the state, no local jurisdiction may prohibit
package liquor sales for consumption off-premises.

Kentucky specifically allows local jurisdictions to elect to go
dry by public referendum.[31] The Kentucky
Constitution implies that the default wet/dry status of any local subdivision
reflects the state of its local laws at the time that statewide prohibition
ended.[32]

Louisiana specifically allows local jurisdictions to go dry,
without limitation on how that decision is made.[33]

Maine
specifically allows local jurisdictions to elect to go dry by public
referendum.[34]

Massachusetts requires that a series of questions of
whether to go dry be placed on each municipality's local ballot every two
years, unless the municipality has voted to allow or prohibit liquor sales in
three such consecutive elections.[35]

Michigan allows any city, village, or township in which there
are no retail liquor licenses to prohibit the retail sale of alcoholic liquor
within its borders by passage of an ordinance.[36]

Minnesota allows any local jurisdiction to enact laws which are
more strict than state liquor law, including completely prohibiting the sale,
possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages.[37] In addition, when the 21st Amendment was enacted to end
national Prohibition, the state was one of only 6 to continue to have a
regulatory framework for 3.2 beer, due to the fact that the 1933 federal law,
The Non-Intoxicating Beverage Act, capped the alcohol limit on beer to 3.2
percent. To this day, no non-liquor stores in Minnesota, including convenience
and grocery stores, can legally sell alcoholic beverages beyond 3.2 beer.

Mississippi is dry by default; local jurisdictions have to
choose to allow liquor sales in order for liquor to be sold at all in the
county.[38]

New Hampshire specifically allows local jurisdictions to
elect to go dry by public referendum.[39]

New Jersey specifically allows local jurisdictions to exercise
full control over alcoholic beverages, including completely prohibiting all
alcohol.[40]

New Mexico is wet by default, however dry on Sundays until
Noon. It is however allowed for local jurisdictions to elect to go dry by
public referendum.[41]

Wisconsin allows local jurisdictions to exercise a local option by public referendum whether to prohibit the
sale of liquor.[53]

States which preclude dry communities

Seventeen states have laws which preclude the existence of any dry counties
whatsoever:

Arizona prohibits local jurisdictions from enacting any alcohol
laws stricter than state law.[54] As a
result, no dry communities can exist in Arizona.

Hawaii
does not allow for any local control of liquor beyond licensing of manufacture
and sale.[55]

Illinois only allows for local control as to the "number, kind
and classification of licenses, for sale at retail of alcoholic liquor," but
such local control cannot supersede state law, thereby preventing any local
jurisdiction from going dry.[56]

Indiana's comprehensive state alcohol laws only allows local
liquor boards to issue liquor licenses for sale and manufacture; all other
regulation of alcohol is an operation of state law.[57]

Iowa state
law specifically requires each county's liquor board to allow liquor licenses
and follow the provisions of state liquor law.[58] As a result, there can be no dry cities or counties in Iowa.

Maryland prohibits local jursidictions from imposing
restrictions on licensing which are more strict than state law.[59]

Missouri state law specifically prohibits any counties, or
unincorporated city or town from banning the retail sale of liquor, but only
allows incorporated cities to ban the sale of liquor by the drink by public
referendum.[60] No incorporated Missouri
cities have ever chosen to held a referendum banning alcohol sales. In
addition, Missouri state law specifically supersedes any local laws that
restrict the sale of alcohol.[61] (see
Alcohol laws of Missouri)

Montana state law vests control of alcoholic beverages solely in
the power of the state.[62]

Nebraska only grants local governing bodies authority to approve
applications and deny licenses pursuant to state law.[63]

Nevada
state law specifically requires each county's board of county commissioners to
allow liquor licenses and follow the provisions of state liquor law.[64] As a result, there can be no dry cities or
counties in Nevada, except that a few rural jurisdictions in are grandfathered into the ability to still be partially
or totally dry.

North Dakota state law provides that each local
jurisdiction's liquor board must allow liquor licenses, and sets the range of
allowable fees.[65]

Oklahoma state law requires the liquor ordinances of
municipalities and counties to conform to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control
Act, and prohibits local jurisdictions from enacting penalties more severe than
those of the state law.[66] As a result,
there can be no dry cities or counties in Oklahoma. (see Alcohol laws of Oklahoma)

Oregon's Liquor Control Act, which is "designed to operate
uniformly throughout the state," specifically replaces and supersedes "any and
all municipal charter enactments or local ordinances inconsistent with it,"
thereby precluding dry communities in Oregon.[67]

Pennsylvania state law vests control of alcoholic beverages
solely in the power of the state.[68]

South Carolina state law vests control of alcoholic
beverages exclusively in the power of the state.[69]

Utah state
law provides that local jurisdictions only may enact alcohol control
legislation which does not conflict with state law, thereby precluding the
ability of communities to go dry.[70]

Wyoming state law provides that each local jurisdiction's liquor
board must allow liquor licenses.[71]